Congressman Smith Votes to Keep Promises to Veterans

I’ve had many opportunities to personally thank Texas veterans for their service and sacrifice on behalf of our nation. But the best way we can thank them is by ensuring they receive the care and services they were promised.

One year after scandals at the VA first came to light, it is clear that the VA is still lagging when it comes to providing timely high-quality care to our nation’s veterans. In the House of Representatives we are working to improve the VA and the care our veterans receive. The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act that was enacted last year is a good start.

This week, we took further actions to improve veteran care and hold the VA accountable for its failed policies. From providing cost-of-living increases and improving health care choices to encouraging employers to hire veterans and making it easier to fire poor performing VA employees, these bills are part of our continued commitment to our nation’s heroes.

Among the bills passed this week are:

The VA Accountability Act of 2015

• Authorizes the VA to fire or demote employees for poor performance (Only 3 VA employees have been fired as a result of scandals that surfaced in 2014)
• Protects whistleblowers from retribution

The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act

• Authorizes the VA to increase veterans compensation on Dec. 1 2015 in accordance with the cost-of-living adjustment rate of 1.7 percent.

The Veterans Entrepreneur Act of 2015

• Raises the most common Small Business Administration loan program’s (7a) lending authority from $18.75 billion to $23.5 billion through fiscal 2015. This will allow lenders to continue giving loans to veteran-owned small businesses.

The Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act:

• Requires the VA to develop a plan to consolidate all of its non-department provided care programs into a single “Veterans Choice Program.”
• Allows greater eligibility for the existing Choice Program.
• Extends moratorium of VA’s expansion of internal dialysis capacity.
• Includes language from the Hire More Heroes Act, which previously passed the House with my support and makes it easier for employers to hire veterans by removing ObamaCare employee restraints